It’s nice to be able to open the freezer and see a bag of the fish fillets and marinade all ready to go. It makes an already easy dish even easier! You’ll want to plan time for it to thaw and then the 10-15 minutes for the flour, salt, pepper, and oil to dredge and cook.

Thaw in the refrigerator, or place the bag in a bowl of cool water for a quicker thaw.

Ingredients

Fish and Marinade:

Dredging and Cooking:

1/2 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

lime wedges for serving

Instructions

Fish and Marinade: In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice and zest, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper, and garlic. Place the tilapia in a gallon-size resealable bag and pour the marinade on top of the fish. Press the air out of the bag, seal it, and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to 4 hours. Flip the bag over once or twice during the marinating time.

Dredging and Cooking: In a shallow dish, whisk together flour, salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until rippling and hot. Dredge each tilapia fillet in the flour, coating both sides lightly. Cook the fillets for 3-5 minutes per side without moving the fish while it cooks. Adjust the cooking time as needed, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Cook in batches, if necessary, so the skillet isn't overcrowded.

Serve immediately with lime wedges.

Preparing For the Freezer:

Whisk together the marinade ingredients as described above. Place the tilapia in a gallon-size resealable bag and pour the marinade on top of the fish. Press the air out of the bag, seal it. Freeze.

Prepare after Freezing:

Remove bag from freezer the night before or morning of and place it in the refrigerator. Or place the bag in a bowl of cool water for a quicker thaw. Let the fish marinate while it thaws. Flip the bag over once or twice during the marinating time. Then dredge and cook as directed above.

Notes

If the tilapia fillets are already frozen and you plan to store this as a freezer meal, do not thaw the fillets before preparing for the freezer. Just keep them frozen and add them to a bag with the marinade.

Comments & Reviews

This was DELICIOUS!! I also added 1/4 teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning to the flour mixture. This marinade would probably work with any type of white fish. I’m going to try it with chicken (will probably grill the chicken instead of breading it and frying it, though)

Hi there! I buy frozen, individually packed tilapia filets. I would love to use your freezing recipe so I can have these on hand to make it easier. Should I thaw the filets first before pouring in the marinade and then re-freeze, or just leave the filets frozen to begin with? Thank you so much!

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